CHAD: It’s going to be laborious to not spend this evaluate evaluating the Clifton Professional to the Clifton 11, however since I received them on the identical time and alternated working in them for two-plus weeks, it form of must be carried out. Aesthetically, I truly actually benefit from the Clifton Professional. The neon accents on the white colorway, with the large Hoka branding alongside the aspect of the shoe, had been so out of character for the model, particularly the Clifton line. In different strains just like the Mach collection and the Cielo, Hoka hasn’t been afraid to go daring; it’s good to see that they did the identical for the Clifton Professional. Positively much more working stylish vs. nurse drip.
I despatched Meg a message on Instagram after 13 miles on this shoe throughout three runs, principally saying I couldn’t put my finger on precisely why, however I used to be actually having fun with the Clifton Professional. Should you requested me, I wouldn’t say the Proglide+ is gentle, squishy, bouncy, resilient, agency, or responsive; it form of threads this bizarre needle, with attributes of all of those traits. Therefore why it’s laborious to elucidate. Mixed with a fairly noticeable rocker, which helps me mitigate the 8mm drop and its influence on my knees, the experience is simply insanely clean. Even after a 10-mile run within the shoe, the place I used to be in a position to preserve my tempo tremendous regular and constant, simply ticking off simple miles, I nonetheless can’t get a grasp on precisely what it’s I like about this shoe. However I simply do… it’s ineffable.
As I discussed within the intro, the Clifton Professional is definitely barely heavier than the Clifton 11, however it didn’t really feel so on the run. As soon as once more, I attribute that to the MetaRocker and the smoothness of the experience, making turnover fairly simple. I additionally assume Hoka has improved the match of its footwear lately, the Clifton Professional being no exception. I used to search out that Hoka footwear ran extremely slender, to the purpose the place my normal-plus foot would spill over the platform of many choices. I’m undecided in the event that they’ve modified the final (they haven’t), however the consolation of the Clifton Professional was top-notch.
